Bradley Beal relishes opportunities to give back in the community

'I just want to be able to touch the youth as much as possible' is how Bradley Beal explains why his work in the community is so important to him.

Author:
Tom Hunsicker

Published:
7:14 PM EDT May 5, 2019

Updated:
7:13 PM EDT May 5, 2019

WASHINGTON -- For Bradley Beal, giving back to the community is a no-brainer.

"I just want to be able to touch the youth as much as possible," said Beal. "People who are in desperate need. Just try to bring smiles to people's faces, impact any way I can, and making sure that I'm not just saying things, or just putting my name behind it, but I'm actually showing face and interacting with everybody in the community as well."

The Wizards guard is one of ten finalists for the NBA's Community Assist Award, an award that highlights work done by NBA players off the court.

For Bradley Beal winning would be nice, but it's not the be all and end all.

"The award is awesome," said Beal. "I appreciate all the support with it. But I could honestly care less about the award, because of the impact I want to have in the community."

Friday, the Wizards guard met with student-athletes from Ron Brown College Preparatory High School.

The day began with a mentoring session where he chatted with the boys about how they were doing in school, and on the court or field. It ended with Beal taking the kids bowling.

Bradley Beal's message to the high school students: that hard work in the classroom pays off.

"My message was just stay in school," said Beal. "Stay in those books. It's not cool to be cool. You gotta focus on your school work. You won't be able to be successful, you won't be able to play sports, you won't be able to reach your goals and do what you need to do unless you have that proper education.

You can vote for Beal on Twitter by tweeting the hashtags #BradleyBeal and #NBACommunityAssist through 11:59 pm Sunday.

The winner will receive a $25,000 donation to the charity of their choice.